A few years ago I had some pain on the top right side of my right foot that wouldn't go away so I went to a podiatrist to get it checked out. He said it was nothing serious and suggested I purchase a pair of Oofos recovery slides and not only wear them instead of my shoes as much as possible but wear them inside my apartment instead of going barefoot. I like the Oofos -- and they indeed helped cure my foot problem -- but I recently tried a new pair of slides from Oka Recovery that are slightly better.
Yes, you heard right, Oka, not Hoka, which also makes good recovery slides. With slides like this, which tend to be very cushiony and comfortable, there are subtle differences. The Oka slides are slightly firmer than my Oofos Oohha slides and also do better with water. The Oofos get slippery on the inside in the rain (or after you get out of the pool and slip them on) and my foot ends up moving around awkwardly and a bit treacherously. Judging from some comments online, I'm not the only one who's experienced this.Â
Oka says its recovery slides have 35mm of "buoyant foam," 12 cooling vents and "a wide upper that cradles without squeezing." The company also touts the slides' "stabilizing deep heel cup that locks your foot in place," but it's worth noting that most people should probably order a size down to get the best fit. I'm usually a size 10 but the review sample that fit me well was the men's 9/women's 11 (yes, they're unisex). I thought they had good arch support.Â
You should consider getting a size smaller than your normal shoe size.Â
Companies like Oofos, Oka, Hoka and Crocs not only make recovery slides but recovery flip-flops. However, Oka's flip-flops didn't fit me as well as its slides. Slip-on recovery clogs are also a good option -- I just tried a pair from Bogs -- but the Oka slides remain my current favorites as far as recovery footwear goes.
Although Crocs recovery slides cost closer to $30, most of these premium recovery slides tend to cost about $50 and pretty much everything Oka sells, whether it's slides or flip-flops, costs $50. While Oka's footwear doesn't seem to go on sale, it should be tariff-proof because all of its products are made in the US out of 100% recycled material. While the Oka Recovery footwear brand only launched in February, the company has been around since 1984 making shoes for "the brands you know and love" along with its own shoe brands, which include Okabashi and Oka-B.